SOME  THINGS  RICHARD  CROKER 
HAS  SAID  AND  DONE. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  CITY  CLUB  OF  NEW  YORK, 
19  WEST  34TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
JULY,  1901. 


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*  CLAJU 
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l£x  ICtbrtH 

SEYMOUR  DURST 

 1 

CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

I.  Mr.  Croker's  Career   5 

II.  The  Power  of  Mr.  Croker  as  the  Leader  of  Tammany 

Hall   9 

III.  Mr.  Croker's  Views  Upon  Party  Discipline  and  the 

Spoils  System   14. 

IV.  Mr.  Croker's  Wealth. — His  Corporations. — His  Race- 

Horses. — His  English  HoiaE. — Money  for  Tammany.  18 

V.  Mr.  Croker  and  the  Democratic  Club   23 

VI.  Mr.  Croker's  Visit  to  England   25 

VII.  The  Attack  on  the  Manhattan  Elevated  Railway  Com- 

pany   29 

VIII.  Mr.  Croker's  Praise  of  the  Tammany  Administration. — 

His  Christmas  Address   30 


avery 


The  approach  of  a  municipal  campaign  makes  it  timely  to  inquire 
about  Mr.  Richard  Croker.  What  is  his  power  ?  How  did  he  get  it  ? 
How  does  he  use  it  ?  How  does  he  keep  it  ?  These  are  proper  ques- 
tions. Mr.  Croker  is  a  public  character,  and  his  great  influence  in 
municipal  affairs  is  undeniable.  The  facts  published  here  will  help  citi- 
zens to  answer  these  questions.  But  the  answers  will  be  found  to  be  un- 
satisfactory and  incomplete.  Nothing  is  disclosed  directly  about  Mr. 
Croker's  relations  with  corporations  which  may  be  benefited  or  injured 
by  the  action  of  city  officials.  No  direct  proof  of  these  relations  is  avail- 
able, but  the  general  belief  among  those  familiar  with  the  course  of  city 
politics  is  that  the  strength  of  Mr.  Croker's  position  is  in  the  political- 
business  alliance  between  him  and  such  corporations.  Ground  is  not 
wanting  for  the  belief  that  the  power  of  Mr.  Croker  is  sustained,  directly 
and  indirectly,  by  "  respectable  and  prominent  citizens"  who  believe 
that  it  is  better  to  uphold  the  bosses  than  to  "  imperil  the  interests,  per- 
haps those  of  widows  and  orphans,  committed  to  their  charge."  In 
other  words,  the  theory  is  that  a  citizen  is  justified,  when  acting  as  a 
director,  or  as  the  manager,  of  a  company  in  "  doing  business  "  with  a 
political  machine  however  corrupt  and  however  dangerous  to  the  State.  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  the  men  who  make  this  plea  in  private  do  not 
make  it  honestly,  although  some  may  persuade  themselves  that  they  make 
it  honestly.  But  it  will  not  stand  the  test ;  they  would  not  dare  to  make 
it  publicly. 

Mr.  Croker  is  only  a  result  of  causes  more  powerful  than  he.  The 
enemy  to  the  public  weal  is  not  Mr.  Croker :  it  is  the  system  which  he 
represents.    The  men  who  contribute  money  to  that  system,  and  who 


4 


have  the  power,  if  they  had  the  courage,  to  overthrow  the  system,  are 
much  more  truly  responsible  for  it  than  is  any  temporary  boss. 

This  pamphlet  is  not  essentially  an  attack  upon  Mr.  Croker  :  it  is  an 
attempt  to  collect  some  of  the  more  important  facts  which  throw  light 
upon  the  position  and  the  character  of  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the 
political  organization  which  controls  the  government  of  New  York  City. 
While  it  is  not  possible  to  vouch  for  the  exact  truth  of  all  the  statements 
quoted  from  the  newspapers,  care  has  been  exercised  to  give  only  news- 
paper articles  believed  to  be  substantially  accurate.  The  fact  that  the 
newspaper  writers  in  general  assume  certain  things  about  Mr.  Croker  is  a 
fact  the  significance  of  which  should  not  be  overlooked. 


5 


I. 

MR.  CROKER'S  CAREER. 

The  following  brief  account  of  Mr.  Croker's  career  is  quoted  from 
"A  History  of  Tammany  Hall,"  by  Gustavus  Myers: — 

"Mr.  Croker  was  born  near  Cork,  Ireland,  November  24th,  1843. 
His  father  was  a  blacksmith  wrho  emigrated  to  America  in  1846,  and 
settled  in  a  squatter's  shanty  in  what  is  now  the  upper  portion  of  Central 
Park.  From  his  thirteenth  to  his  nineteenth  year  young  Croker  worked 
as  a  machinist.  At  a  very  early  age  he  distinguished  himself  in  the 
semi-social  fist  fights  which  were  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  "gang" 
to  which  he  belonged.  He  became,  tradition  has  it,  the  leader  of  the 
"Fourth  Avenue  Tunnel  Gang,"  and  fought  a  number  of  formal  prize 
fights,  in  which  he  came  out  victor. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  Tweed  regime,  according  to  his  testimony 
before  the  Fassett  committee  (1890),  he  was  attendant  under  Judge  Bar- 
nard and  other  judges  in  the  Supreme  Court.  Upon  leaving  that  place, 
for  some  reason  not  known,  he  served  as  an  engineer  on  a  fire  depart- 
ment steamer.  In  1868  and  1869  he  was  elected  an  alderman.  With  a 
majority  of  his  fellow  members  he  sided  with  the  "  Young  Democracy  " 
against  Tweed,  and  was  accordingly,  with  the  rest  of  the  board,  legis- 
lated out  of  office.  But  he  must  have  made  his  peace  with  the  great 
"Boss"  soon  after,  for  Comptroller  Connolly  appointed  him  superin- 
tendent of  market  fees  and  rents.  In  1873  ne  was  elected  coroner.  On 
election  day,  November  3rd,  1874,  during  a  street  row  growing  out  of  a 
political  quarrel  between  Croker  and  James  O'Brien,  James  McKenna 
was  shot  dead.  Bystanders  maintained  that  Mr.  Croker  fired  the  shot, 
and  the  Grand  Jury  indicted  him  for  the  crime.  The  trial  jury,  after 
being  out  for  17  hours,  failed  to  agree.    Public  opinion  at  the  time  was 


6 


divided,  but  it  is  the  preponderance  of  opinion  among  those  who  are  in 
a  position  to  know  that  Croker  did  not  fire  the  fatal  shot. 

"In  1876  he  was  re-elected  coroner.  In  1883  he  ran  for  alderman, 
with  the  understanding  that  if  elected,  thus  establishing  the  fact  of  his 
constituents'  approval,  Mayor  Edson  would  appoint  him  a  fire  commis- 
sioner. During  the  canvass,  a  police  captain,  one  of  Croker's  pro- 
teges, was  responsible  for  a  brutal  clubbing,  the  feeling  over  which  had 
the  effect  of  reducing  Mr.  Croker's  plurality  to  about  200.  Mayor 
Edson,  however,  gave  him  the  appointment,  and  he  was  reappointed  by 
Mayor  Hewitt.  His  alleged  connection  with  the  fund  of  Si8o,ooo,  to 
be  used  in  behalf  of  Hugh  J.  Grant  in  1884,  has  already  been  men- 
tioned*. In  1885  he  caused  the  nomination  of  the  latter  for  sheriff.  Mr. 
Grant,  while  in  that  office,  according  to  Mr.  McCann's  testimony,  gave 
$25,000,  in  five  presents  of  $5,000  each,  to  Mr.  Croker's  two-year  old 
daughter,  Flossie.  Neither  Mr.  Croker  nor  Mr.  Grant  denied  this 
transaction,  though  both  declared  that  the  sum  was  $10,000  and  not 
$25,000.  Mr.  Grant  furthermore  declared  that  he  gave  it  in  con- 
sideration of  Flossie  being  his  godchild. 

>{c  ^  s{c  ijc  ^fi  >-c 

"In  the  meantime  Richard  Croker  spent  most  of  his  time  in  England. 
From  being  a  comparatively  poor  man,  as  testified  in  1890,  he  became 
suddenly  rich.  From  April,  1889,  to  February,  1890,  he  was  city 
chamberlain  at  a  salary  of  825,000  a  year,  but  for  some  time  after  that 
he  held  no  public  office,  nor  had  he  any  regular  business.  Within  two 
years,  however,  he  was  able  to  buy  the  Belle  Meade  stock  farm  for 
$250,000,  paying  additionally  $109,000  for  Longstreet  and  other  race 
horses.  He  built  a  new  house,  said  to  cost  over  $200,000,  and  lavishly 
spent  and  displayed  the  evidence  of  money  in  other  ways. 

"When  in  the  city  he  is,  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years,  in 

*Patrick  McCann,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Croker,  testified  before  the 
senate  (Fassett)  investigating  committee  in  1890,  that  Mr.  Croker  had  come 
to  Mr.  McCann's  store  in  1884  with  a  bag  containing  a  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  dollars  to  be  used,  Mr.  Croker  said,  to  buy  the  necessary  votes  in  the 
board  of  aldermen  for  the  confirmation  of  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Grant  to  the 
office  of  commissioner  of  public  works. 


7 


the  real  estate  business.  He  is  popularly  credited  with  having  been 
interested  in  the  passage  and  development  of  certain  extremely  valuable 
franchises  which  were  obtained  from  the  legislature  and  board  of  alder- 
men almost  for  nothing.  In  1S92  he  was  deputed  to  dominate  the  legis- 
lature, as  he  did  the  city,  and  the  lobby  disappeared.  It  was  related  at 
the  time  that  all  applicants  for  favors  or  for  relief  from  hostile  measures 
were  advised  "  to  see  headquarters." 

''One  of  the  franchises  granted  during  that  year  was  the  "  Huckle- 
berry "  franchise  for  a  street  railway  in  the  Annexed  district — a  grant 
which  was  worth  at  the  time  fully  $2rooo,ooo,  and  yet  was  practically 
given  away  under  circumstances  of  great  scandal.  When  testifying 
before  the  Mazet  Committee  in  1899,  he  was  asked  whether  he  had 
owned  in  1892  eight  hundred  shares  of  the  stock  of  this  road,  but 
declined  to  state. 

>}J  >(C  jfc  ^  ifc 

"As  chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  of  Tammany  Hall  (a  post 
Tweed  and  Kelly  had  held,  and  which  carried  with  it  the  titular  leader- 
ship of  the  organization),  all  the  vast  funds  contributed  for  Tammany's 
campaigns  have  passed  through  his  hands,  and  as  he  himself  testified,  the 
financial  committee  kept  no  books. 

''Whether  Mr,  Croker  has  been  home  or  abroad,  his  control  of  the 
wigwam  has  been  absolute.  Long  since  he  inaugurated  the  system  of 
"  turning  down  "  any  organization  man  who  disobeyed  orders. 

"At  the  time  of  Mr.  Bryan's  nomination  in  1896,  Mr.  Croker  was 
in  England.  His  three  years'  racing  experience  there  cost  him,  it  was 
reputed,  between  8600,000  and  #700,000.  He  remained  abroad,  leav- 
ing the  organization,  as  we  have  mentioned,  in  charge  of  John  C.  Shee- 
han  as  a  kind  of  vicegerent.  Mr.  Sheehan's  public  record  in  Buffalo  had 
been  severely  criticised,  and  many  organization  men  had  protested 
against  his  being  put  in  charge.  This  protest,  however,  was  generally 
understood  at  the  time  to  be  founded  not  so  much  on  the  matter  of  Mr. 
Sheehan's  record  as  on  that  of  his  being  an  interloper  from  another  sec- 
tion of  the  State.  Tammany  that  year  ignored  the  National  Democratic 
platform.    Though  ratifying  Mr.  Bryan's  nomination,  a  general  apathy 


s 


prevailed  at  the  wigwam  through  the  campaign,  and  the  more  radical 
democrats  repeatedly  charged  the  leaders  with  treachery  to  the  ticket. 
The  result  of  this  and  other  influences  was  that  Mr.  McKinley  carried 
the  city  by  over  20,000  plurality. 

"Mr,  Croker  finally  returned  home  in  September,  1897,  shortly 
before  the  meeting  of  the  democratic  city  convention.  It  is  commonly 
believed  that  Mr.  Sheehan,  the  deputy  "boss,"  had  made  preparations 
to  assume  the  "boss-ship"  himself.  Whatever  the  circumstances  were, 
Mr.  Croker  promptly  deprived  the  former  of  power,  and  later  succeeded 
in  practically  excluding  him  from  the  organization." 

The  following  statement  was  published  in  the  New  York  Times,  Sep- 
tember 8th,  1 87 1  : — 

On  last  Tuesday  evening,  Sept,  5,  about  8:45  p.  m.,  ex-Alderman 
Richard  Croker,  of  the  Twenty-first  Ward,  who  is  the  leader  of  the  St. 
Patrick's  Alliance  (Dick  Connolly's  secret  organization  in  that  ward), 
with  the  assistance  of  another  individual,  who  can  be  identified  by  parties 
who  were  present,  assaulted  a  man  named  James  Moore  with  a  slung- 
shot,  knocking  him  down  and  then  kicking  him,  at  the  corner  of  Thirty- 
first  Street  and  Third  Avenue.  The  ex- Alderman  is  now  holding  a  sin- 
ecure position  under  Dick  Connolly,  and  is  occasionally  appointed  as  a 
commissioner  on  street  openings.  He  is  also  the  individual  who  put  in 
a  bid  for  Washington  Market  (it  is  supposed)  as  a  blind  for  "  Slippery 
Dick." 

In  1890,  before  the  senate  investigating  committee,  of  which 
Senator  Fassett  was  chairman,  Mr.  Croker  testified  that,  while  a 
member  of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  New  York  City  in  1870,  he  had 
signed  the  following  document. 

"The  undersigned  aldermen  of  the  city  and  county  of  New  York, 
being  duly  and  severally  sworn,  do  depose  and  say  that  they  will  not 
in  their  official  capacity  as  such  aldermen,  vote  for  a  confirmation  of  the 
appointment  of  any  officer  created  under  the  provisions  of  the  city 
charter  or  any  laws  of  this  State,  or  adopt  any  ordinance  or  resolution 
affecting  the  powers,  duties  and  interests  of  any  municipal  department 
of  said  city  or  county  government  without  consulting  with  Messrs. 


9 


Henry  H.  Genet,  Thomas  J.  Creamer,  Michael  Norton  (another  whose 
name  has  been  erased),  George  W.  McLean  and  George  H.  Purcer,  and 
first  obtaining  the  consent  of  said  last-named  gentlemen  to  any  such 
contemplated  act.  Sworn  before  me  this  20th  day  of  March,  1870. 
Joel  O.  Stevens,  Commissioner  of  Deeds." 

(Signed)  James  Barker, 

Anthony  Miller, 
Peter  Calkin, 
M.  Seger, 
James  McKeever, 
John  Moore, 
Richard  Croker, 
George  W.  McCreiger. 

II. 

THE  POWER  OF  MR.  CROKER  AS  THE  LEADER  OF 

TAMMANY  HALL. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1897,  after  the  success  of  Tammany  in  the  first 
election  of  officers  of  the  Greater  New  York,  to  hold  office  from  the  1st 
of  Januury,  1898,  Mr.  Croker  spent  some  time  at  the  Lakewood  Hotel,  in 
Lakewood,  N.  J.  It  was  commonly  understood,  and  the  newspapers  all 
accepted  the  theory,  that  he  there  and  then  determined  personally  the 
Tammany  men  who  should  be  appointed  by  Mayor  Van  Wyck  to  the 
many  important  and  lucrative  positions  to  be  filled  by  the  mayor  under 
the  Greater  New  York  charter.  Day  after  day  the  newspapers  printed 
reports  of  what  was  done  at  Lakewood,  similar  to  the  two  quoted  below. 
Upon  the  30th  of  December,  1897,  the  New  York  Times  published  a 
despatch  from  Lakewood  which  was  in  part  as  follows  : 

BIG  GATHERING  AT  LAKEWOOD. 

Lakewood,  N.  J.,  Dec.  29. — It  was  apparent  shortly  after  the  first 
train  rolled  into  the  station  this  morning  that  the  Tammany  Mecca  would 


10 


be  a  busy  one,  for  the  advance  guard  of  politicians  which  came  down 
was  a  fair  indication  of  the  size  of  the  crowd  that  wrould  'follow.  Every 
train  brought  its  load  of  Tammany  leaders  with  long  lists  of  applications 
for  some  of  the  plums  that  will  fall  when  the  municipal  tree  is  shaken 
in  a  few  days.  In  the  corridors,  at  the  tables  in  the  cafe,  and  in  star 
chamber  sessions  in  the  rooms  small  batches  of  politicians  discussed  the 
situation. 

The  day  was  the  liveliest  Chief  Croker  has  had  since  he  first  showed 
that  Lakewood  was  to  be  the  seat  of  his  court.  He  was  down  stairs  early, 
and  after  breakfast  looked  over  his  mail  with  ex-Senator  Thomas  F. 
Grady.  Then  came  the  politicians,  and  from  the  time  the  first  one 
grasped  his  hand  up  to  the  hour  he  retired  he  did  not  spend  more  than  a 
few  minutes  at  a  time  unaccompanied. 

Among  the  first  of  the  visitors  to  arrive  were  Augustus  W.  Peters, 
Thomas  L.  Feitner  (who  rumor  has  it  to-night  would  be  made  President 
of  the  Tax  Board),  Charles  F.  Murphy  and  "  Jimmy"  Oliver.  The 
second  train-load  brought  among  others  Lawrence  Delmour,  Maurice 
Featherson,  Judge  William  J.  Gaynor  and  his  wife.  Delmour,  and 
Featherson  in  turn,  took  long  strolls  up  and  down  the  corridor  with  Mr. 
Croker,  and  with  each  the  Chief  talked  earnestly.  The  assembled  poli- 
ticians waited  patiently,  and  while  the  earnest  conversations  were  being 
carried  on  they  agreed  that  if  the  walls  of  the  corridor  could  hear  and 
speak  they  could  tell  every  name  on  the  slate.  Both  of  the  up-town 
district  leaders  had  been  sent  for,  and  it  was  the  general  impression  that 
as  they  are  among  Croker's  oldest  and  stanchest  friends,  the  slate,  as 
already  arranged,  had  been  submitted  to  them  for  suggestions. 

When  Judge  Gaynor  took  the  corridor  walk  with  Mr.  Croker  there 
was  an  instant  flutter  among  the  politicians,  and  frequent  nods  and  side 
glances  of  wonderment.  The  conference  was  a  long  one,  and  apparently 
of  importance.  Mr.  Croker,  as  usual,  said  that  there  was  nothing  of  im- 
port in  it,  and  Judge  Gaynor  said  the  same.  The  wiseacres,  however, 
would  not  listen  to  such  an  explanation,  and  insisted  the  conference  was 
an  important  one  with  a  strong  bearing  on  State  politics.  It  was  sug- 
gested by  some  that  Mr.  Croker  had  decided  upon  Judge  Gaynor  in  place 
of  Perry  Belmont  as  the  man  to  push  forward  for  the  nomination  for 
Governor. 

By  evening  the  crowd  at  the  hotel  had  increased  so  greatly  that  the 
politicians,  if  they  cared  to  keep  Mr.  Croker  in  sight,  were  forced,  while 
waiting  for  a  chance  to  speak  to  him,  to  hold  their  little  conferences  in 
the  crowded  reception  parlor. 


1 1 

On  the  same  day  the  New  York  Tribune  printed  a  despatch  from 
Lakewood  which  was  in  part  as  follows  :  — 

THE  COURT  IN  FULL  SWAY. 

Lakewood,  N.  J.,  Dec.  29. — Croker's  court  is  in  full  sway  here 
again.  A  delegation  of  fifty  Tammany  braves  came  here  to-day  and 
talked  with  Mr.  Croker,  Mayor-elect  Van  Wyck,  John  F.  Carroll,  State 
Senator  Grady  and  other  leaders.  Most  of  the  Tammany  men  who  came 
to-day  are  office  seekers  or  sponsors  for  candidates  for  office,  and  they 
did  considerable  hustling  during  the  afternoon  and  evening.  It  seemed 
to  be  the  belief  that  the  Tammany  slate  for  appointments  would  be  an- 
nounced within  twenty-four  hours. 

Colonel  Asa  Bird  Gardiner,  the  next  District-Attorney  of  New  York 
County,  came  here  this  morning  and  was  about  the  hotel  all  day  and  in 
frequent  conference  with  Mr.  Croker  and  others.  After  dinner  to  night 
Colonel  Gardiner,  John  F.  Carroll,  State  Senator  Grady  and  the  Mayor- 
elect  with  a  few  others,  retired  to  Mr.  Croker's  room  and  remained 
closeted  with  Mr.  Croker  for  a  long  time.  It  is  understood  that  the 
names  of  Colonel  Gardiner's  assistants  were  considered  finally. 

The  New  York  World  printed  an  article  on  the  15th  of  January, 
1898,  in  which  the  following  passage  occurred  :  — 

Mr.  Croker  dined  at  the  Democratic  Club  with  Carroll  and  Grady, 
and  for  the  next  three  hours  held  high  court,  listening  to  pleas  for  office, 
complaints,  excuses,  etc.,  and  all  the  time  was  the  same  imperturbable 
man,  seemingly  as  much  interested  in  the  men  who  carried  an  election 
district  in  the  Steenth  as  in  the  biggest  of  the  Tigers.  To  n^ne  of  his 
courtiers  did  he  say  more  than  "yes"  and  "no";  and  when  one  of 
them  got  through  with  him,  he  knew  as  much  as  did  the  man  to  whom 
Mr.  Croker  had  decided  to  give  a  $7,000  place. 

The  following  despatch  from  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  at  the  time  of  the 
Democratic  state  convention  of  1898,  appeared  in  the  New  York  Her- 
ald of  the  28th  of  September,  1898:  — 

CROKER  GREETED  AS  A  CONQUEROR. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  Tuesday. — Richard  Croker  flushed  with  pleasure 
at  the  tumultuous  welcome  accorded  to  him  this  afternoon  by  the  delegates 


12 


to  the  Democratic  Convention  and  the  citizens  of  Syracuse,  as  the  first 
section  of  the  Tammany  train,  with  1,500  braves  on  board,  entered  the 
city  on  its  way  to  the  station.  Sidewalks  were  lined  with  men  and 
women,  who  cheered  heartily  for  Mr.  Croker  and  his  army  of  tigers. 

He  came  like  a  conqueror.  When  he  alighted  from  his  parlor  car 
Mayor  James  K.  McGuire's  bluecoats  cleared  a  path  for  him,  and  with 
uplifted  clubs  drove  the  curious  away.  John  F.  Carroll  preceded  him  to 
the  carriage  in  waiting,  and  then  the  mob  broke  through  the  police  bar- 
ricades and  crowded  around  the  chief. 

In  response  to  a  volley  of  cheers,  Mr.  Croker  doffed  his  hat,  the 
cabman  cracked  the  whip,  and  then  began  a  triumphant  gallop  to  the 
Yates  House,  where  Senator  Edward  Murphy  and  former  Senator  David 
B.  Hill  anxiously  awaited  his  arrival. 

The  crowd  ran  before  and  behind  his  carriage,  and  when  it  reached 
the  Yates  a  great  cheer  greeted  the  leader  from  a  throng  of  delegates  and 
sightseers  gathered  in  front  of  the  hotel.  Again  Carroll  made  way  for 
the  chief  through  the  people,  and  after  persistent  elbowing  convoyed  him 
safely  to  his  room. 

5|C  ^jc  ?Jc 

Another  star  in  the  Tammany  constellation  is  Timothy  *'  Dewey" 
Sullivan.  Local  pugilists  and  actors  looking  for  open  dates  are  camping 
upon  his  trail.  Col.  Asa  Bird  Gardiner  is  also  a  hero.  The  men  who 
swear  "b'gosh  !  "  and  wear  gum  boots  surround  him  and  tell  him  that 
when  he  said,  "To  h  with  reform  !  "  he  voiced  their  sentiments. 

In  brief,  it  is  the  court  at  Lakewood  come  to  life  again,  only  on  a 
larger  and  a  more  brilliant  scale.  The  welcome  to  Croker  in  1898  has 
blotted  out  that  memorable  farewell  in  1879. 

Mr.  Croker's  own  views  as  to  his  influence  are  expressed  in  the 
testimony  given  by  him  before  the  Assembly  (Mazet)  Investigating 
Committee  on  the  14th  of  April,  1899. 

He  acknowledged  that  he  was  11  the  leader  of  the  party  "  (Tammany 
Hall),  and  declared  that  he  was  going  to  stick  to  his  friends  all  the  time. 
He  testified  that  he  gave  a  certain  amount  of  direction  and  advice  to  the 
principal  city  officials,  and  that  most  of  them  followed  it;  that  when  they 
did  not  follow  it,  he  and  his  associates  generally  talked  to  them,  and 
brought  them  into  line;  and  that  that  was  the  only  way  a  political  party 
could  be  made  practically  successful,  as  it  does  not  do  to  have  divided 
counsel  at  the  head.    As  to  the  selection  of  men  to  fill  the  important 


13 


appointive  offices  after  the  success  of  Tammany  Hall  in  the  municipal 
election  of  1897,  he  testified  that  after  the  election  there  was  a  gathering 
at  Lakewood  of  the  important  members  of  the  Tammany  organization, 
including  himself,  at  which  were  discussed  the  offices  that  were  to  be 
filled  and  the  candidates  for  those  offices ;  that  most  of  the  important 
officers  of  the  city  and  county  government  were  selected  at  the  conference 
at  Lakewood,  and  that  his  advice  was  asked  as  to  most  of  them;  that  in  fill- 
ing the  offices  he  looked  directly  to  the  practical  question  of  sustaining 
the  strength  of  Tammany,  and  that  practically  all  the  heads  of  city  de- 
partments met  at  the  Democratic  Club  every  evening. 

On  the  22nd  of  April,  1899,  Mr.  Thomas  J.  Brady,  then  commis- 
sioner of  buildings  of  New  York  City  testified  that  "  no  person  specially  " 
had  talked  with  him  about  these  appointments  until  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1897,  wnen  ne  11  received  a  notice  from  Mr.  Croker  to  meet  him  at 
"  the  Murray  Hill  Hotel,  and  Mr.  Van  Wyck  and  other  parties  j  "  and 
that  Mr.  Croker  and  Mr.  Van  Wyck  both  then  asked  him  to  accept  the 
position  of  commissioner  of  buildings.  He  said,  "  I  met  a  lot  of  people 
"  there  who  have  been  appointed  since.  I  did  not  know  at  that  time 
"  what  their  business  was  there.  The  whole  place  was  filled.  The  lobby 
"  of  the  hotel  was  filled.  And  people  were  walking  back  and  forth,  and 
"  they  were  all  there.    It  was  a  whole  crowd  of  people  there." 

As  to  his  influence  in  political  matters,  Mr.  Croker  testified  on  the 
14th  of  April  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  Tammany 
Hall  on  the  10th  of  January,  1899,  he  had  addressed  the  committee  on 
the  failure  of  members  of  the  municipal  assembly  to  attend  meetings  of 
the  houses  of  the  assembly,  and  that  he  had  said,  "  I  want  to  ask  you  all 
"  to  see  that  members  attend  the  meetings  of  the  assembly  in  future." 
He  also  testified  that  he  probably  had  more  influence  politically  than  any 
other  man  that  he  knew  of.  On  the  15th  of  April  he  testified  that  the 
state  senators  who  were  members  of  Tammany  Hall  had  been  absent  from 
a  large  dinner  of  the  Democratic  Club  in  the  spring  of  1899,  because  he 
had  instructed  them  that  £f  their  place  was  in  Albany  at  their  business." 


14 


III. 

MR-  CROKER'S  VIEWS  UPON  PARTY  DISCIPLINE  AND  THE 

SPOILS  SYSTEM. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  1900,  the  New  York  Times  published  an 
article  which  was  in  part  as  follows  :  — 

TAMMANY  CAMPAIGN  FUND. 

Richard  Croker's  circular  asking  for  contributions  was  sent  out  yes- 
terday to  all  city  officials  who  owe  their  places  to  Tammany  Hall.  The 
notices  were  sent  in  ordinary  envelopes  and  were  delivered  through  the 
mails  to  all  city  and  county  officials. 

While  there  is  no  request  for  specific  sums  in  the  circular,  the  offi- 
cials of  the  departments  consult  generally  with  their  superiors  or  some 
person  in  political  power  as  to  the  amount  which  should  be  sent  to  Mr. 
Croker  in  compliance  with  the  request.  The  sum  agreed  upon  is  usually 
5  per  cent,  of  the  yearly  salary  of  each  official.  Some  prominent  office- 
holders who  have  other  sources  of  revenue  outside  of  city  positions,  as 
contracts,  important  commissionerships,  or  lucrative  receiverships,  are 
expected  to  contribute  more  in  proportion  than  the  clerks  and  subordi- 
nate officials. 

The  old  system  of  a  Wiskinkie,  such  as  existed  in  days  of  old, 
when  Dan  Donigan  went  around  and  collected  the  money  from  officials 
who  were  backward  in  payments,  has  been  put  in  force  this  year.  It  is 
said  that  John  A.  Boyle,  a  politician  in  Commissioner  Keating's  district, 
will  look  after  such  details  this  year. 

The  city  officials  will  receive  their  salary  checks  for  the  month  of 
September  to-day,  and  in  less  than  two  days  their  subscriptions  are  ex- 
pected to  be  in  the  treasury  of  Tammany  Hall.  In  large  departments 
the  commissioners  and  deputies  have  quietly  sent  word  around  to  all 
subordinates  that,  while  there  is  110  compulsion,  the  organization  expects 
every  man  to  make  a  contribution  of  about  5  per  cent,  of  his  salary  this 
year. 

The  usual  system  adopted  is  for  some  official  in  each  department 
to  agree  to  hold  himself  responsible  for  the  collection  and  delivery  of 
the  money  to  the  Tammany  treasury.  As  each  official  pays  his  assess- 
ment his  name  is  checked  off  the  roll.  Those  who  do  not  pay  are 
notified  that  cash  is  expected,  and  if  this  does  not  prove  effectual  the 


15 


Wiskinkie  is  sent  around  with  the  "blacklist"  to  make  collections. 
Any  man  who  refuses  is  booked  for  severe  discipline  or  the  loss  of  his 
job.    Few  Tammany  men  ever  refuse. 

The  circular  sent  out  yesterday  follows : 

New  York,  Sept.  22,  1900. 
Dear  Sir:    The  Presidential  election  of  1900  now  confronts  us. 

5k  5k  5k  5k  5k  5k 

You  are  known  by  the  undersigned  to  be  attached  to  our  cause, 
and  your  adherence  to  Democratic  principles  has  been  shown  heretofore 
by  appreciated  contributions.  We  therefore  feel  warranted  in  again 
soliciting  from  you  this  year,  so  important  to  the  Democracy,  such  a 
contribution  as  you  may  be  pleased  to  make  for  the  purposes  hereinbefore 
stated.  You  have  our  assurance  that  every  dollar  raised  will  be  prudently 
and  economically  expended. 

Checks  may  be  made  payable  to  Richard  Croker,  Chairman  of  the 
Finance  Committee,  and  to  John  McQuade,  Treasurer  of  the  Tammany 
Hall  General  Committee  at  Tammany  Hall,  who  are  authorized  to  receive 
checks  for  any  sum  that  may  be  subscribed. 

Very  respectfully, 

Richard  Croker, 
John  F.  Carroll, 
Hugh  J.  Grant, 
Andrew  Freedman, 
E.  Clifford  Potter, 
Jacob  Ruppert, 
Daniel  F.  McMahon, 
John  B.  McDonald, 
Cord  Meyer, 

Finance  Committee. 

The  amount  of  money  which  will  be  paid  to  Mr.  Croker  as 
Chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  is  variously  estimated  by  the  politi- 
cians. 

An  expert  figured  for  the  New  York  Times  reporter  last  evening  that 
about  $10,000,000  of  the  yearly  pay  rolls  of  the  city  departments  were 
subjected  to  a  5  per  cent,  assessment.  This  would  bring  in  to  the  Tam- 
many treasury  $500,000  from  city  officials  alone.  Large  contractors  are 
also  expected  to  contribute  liberally,  and  every  politician  who  derives  a 
revenue  indirectly  from  the  city  must  contribute.  From  these  sources  it 
was  estimated  that  at  least  $500,000  more  would  be  contributed,  so  that 
Tammany  Hall  would  have  not  less  than  $1, coo. 000  to  spend  in  the. 


i6 

campaign.  All  candidates  for  public  offices  are  also  expected  to  con- 
tribute liberally. 

Mr.  Croker  was  quoted  in  the  New  York  Herald  of  the  8th  of  July, 

1898,  as  saying  in  an  address  to  the  executive  committee  of  the  Colored 
Democratic  Union  of  the  Greater  New  York,  "  We  can  treat  the  colored 
"  people  in  proportion  to  their  work.  That  is  all  we  do  in  our  own 
"  party.  We  treat  every  party  in  proportion  to  their  work,  and  give 
"  them  patronage  in  accordance  with  their  merits  and  representation, 
"  and  that  we  will  do  for  you.  You  understand  organization  as  well  as 
"  we  do." 

Mr.  Croker  was  generally  quoted  in  the  newspapers  as  saying  on  the 
15th  of  October,  1898,  in  explaining  the  refusal  of  Tammany  Hall  to  re- 
nominate Judge  Joseph  F.  Daly  : — 

"  Justice  Daly  was  elected  by  Tammany  Hall  after  he  was  discovered 
"  by  Tammany  Hall,  and  Tammany  Hall  had  a  right  to  expect  proper 
"  consideration  at  his  hands." 

Mr.  Croker's  views  as  to  the  duties  of  Tammany  judges  were  expressed 
in  his  testimony  before  the  investigating  committee  on  the  14th  of  April, 

1899,  He  said  that  the  judges  should  "  do  their  duty,  irrespective  of  party  "; 
that  they  should  appoint  their  subordinates  as  a  true  member  of  the  party 
should,  but  that  they  did  not  always  do  so  ;  that  Tammany  Hall  expected 
the  Tammany  judges  to  do  so ;  that  in  all  matters  of  patronage  they 
should  first  consider  the  organization;  that  some  of  the  judges  on  the 
bench  had  betrayed  their  party  and  had  made  notable  lapses ;  that  these 
judges  had  appointed  personal  friends,  who  were  honest  and  capable,  so 
far  as  Mr.  Croker  knew;  that  in  failing  to  appoint  organization  men, 
these  judges  were  out  of  line  with  the  party;  that  the  theory  of  the  city 
government  right  through  was  that  the  organization  in  control  should 
have  all  the  offices.  "  That  is  what  I  believe  the  people  voted  our  ticket 
for."  He  said  that  a  referee  in  appointing  Mr.  Croker's  firm  as  auction- 
eers for  judicial  sales  of  real  estate  did  a  good  party  act ;  that  his  firm  at 
least  expected  to  be  befriended  by  Tammany  judges  and  referees  ;  that 
he  was  "  working  for  his  own  pocket  all  the  time  ";  and  that  the  spoils  be- 
longed to  the  party. 


17 


Joseph  F.  Daly,  at  that  time  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  said  in 
testifying  before  the  investigating  committee  on  the  14th  of  April, 
1899  :~ 

"  I  have  known  that  the  claim  was  that  appointments  should  be  for 
"political  considerations."  .  .  .  "  I  was  notified  "  (in  1898)  "that  I 
"  need  not  expect  a  re-nomination  on  the  ground  that  I  had  refused  to 
"  make  an  appointment.  I  had  also  refused  to  make  a  judicial  order. 
u  The  notification  came  from  Mr.  Croker,  whom  I  see  here  now,  and 
f<  I  suppose  he  will  not  deny  it,  so  it  is  unnecessary  to  state  who  was  the 
"  medium  of  the  communication.    That  was  the  first  part  of  last  year."' 

Judge  Daly  testified  further  that  the  appointment  which  he  refused 
to  make  was  that  of  Michael  T.  Daly  to  be  chief  clerk  of  the  court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas ;  that  one  objection  to  the|appointment  was  that  it  would  have 
involved  the  dismissal  of  a  thoroughly  competent  clerk,  who  had  served 
for  two  or  three  years,  but  that  the  principal  objection  was  "  that  Mr.  Daly 
was  not  an  experienced  lawyer,  and  that  was  indispensable  for  the  position." 
Judge  Daly  testified  that  the  order  which  he  refused  to  make  without  a  hear- 
ing was  an  order  for  the  removal  of  judicial  sales  of  real  estate 
from  the  Real  Estate  Exchange  in  Liberty  street  to  in  Broadway. 
"  I  declined  to  sign  any  order  for  the  removal  of  the  sales  until  the 
"  hearing  had  been  had.  I  had  no  information  or  idea  at  that  time  that 
"  Mr.  Croker  was  interested  in  the  removal  of  the  sales,  so  that  my  re- 
"  fusal  to  make  the  order  was  not  a  personal  matter,  as  regarded  him, 
?f  although  I  may  state  if  I  had  known  it,  it  would  have  made  no  differ- 
"  ence,  for  I  have  made  no  such  judicial  order  without  giving  the  parties 
"  interested  an  ample  opportunity  to  be  heard  on  the  subject.  It  was 
"  therefore  a  matter  of  surprise  to  be  notified  from  Mr.  Croker  that 
"  that  was  considered  a  personal  affair  of  his,  and  that  I  should  not  be 
"  renominated,  because  I  had  refused  to  make  the  order.  I  thought  that 
"  this  notification  was  a  jest  at  first.  I  couldn't  possibly  conceive  it  to 
"  be  serious." 

Q. — If  I  understand  you,  the  order  was  presented  to  you  ex  parte  ? 
A. — Oh,  yes. 

Q. — There  was  no  notification  to  the  great  mass  of  real  estate 


i8 

auctioneers  who  were  selling  at  the  Exchange  in  Liberty  street,  so  far  as 
you  know  ?  A. — I  understand  that  they  were  all  aware  of  the  contem- 
plated change. 

On  the  17th  of  April  Mr.  Croker  testified  he  and  ''the  people 
of  the  organization"  wanted  a  municipal  gas  plant,  with  contracts 
carried  out  by  members  of  the  organization, — "Tammany  right  to  the 
ground ' '  ;  and  that  Tammany  wanted  the  whole  business. 

IV. 

MR.    CROKER'S     WEALTH- — HIS     CORPORATIONS.— HIS 
RACE    HORSES— HIS    ENGLISH    HOME-— MONEY 

FOR  TAMMANY. 

In  the  New  York  World  of  the  3d  of  December,  1896,  appeared  an 

article  which  was  in  part  as  follows  :  — 

Probably  the  most  astonishing  thing  that  Richard  Croker  ever  did 
was  to  take  a  $250,000  prescription  in  February,  1892.  For  at  least  a 
year  before  he  had  suffered  from  inability  to  sleep.  His  physicians  pre- 
scribed plenty  of  out-of-door  exercise  and  absolute  freedom  from  any 
responsibility. 

Thereupon  Mr.  Croker  paid  $250,000  for  a  limited  interest  in  the 
Belle  Meade  stock  farm  in  Tennessee. 

■St  ■  3fc  ^fc  w  "  w  w 

But  Mr.  Croker  wasn't  discouraged.  The  path  he  had  pursued 
since  February,  1893  to  the  present  time  proves  that  his  fortune  greatly 
exceeded  $1,000,000  at  that  time,  or  that  he  had  discovered  a  method 
that  kept  it  up  like  a  spring  that  is  always  full,  no  matter  how  much  is 
taken  out  of  it.  He  paid  $22,000  for  Dobbins,  $12,000  for  Prince 
George,  $8,100  for  Armitage,  $30,000  for  Longstreet,  $20,000  for 
Fairy,  $15,000  for  Red  Banner,  $24,000  for  Yorkville  Belleand  $25,000 
for  My  Favorite.  The  total  of  these  purchases  amounted  to  $156,100, 
but  it  did  not  stop  here. 

■*  *  •*  #  *  * 

Men  who  know  something  about  English  racing  and  English  race 
tracks  and  the  sort  of  Englishmen  who  give  tone  and  color  to  the  sport, 
say  that  nowhere  else  in  the  world  can  so  much  money  be  spent  so 


J9 


quickly.  Nothing  is  free  within  the  atmosphere  of  the  English  racing 
world.  Mr.  Croker's  establishment  cost  him  $100,000  a  year,  and  he 
has  been  there  two  years  and  intends  to  remain  another. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  1900,  the  New  York  newspapers  published 
a  letter  from  B.  K.  Durkee,  an  insurance  examiner  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
to  James  R.  B.  Van  Cleave,  Insurance  Superintendent  of  that  State, 
dated  the  12th  of  June,  1900.  The  letter,  which  related  to  the  United 
States  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company,  of  Boston,  contained  the  follow- 
ing passage: 

"It  seems  that  in  locating  their  office  in  New  York  City  it  was 
l(  necessary  to  secure  the  influence  of  Richard  Croker  in  order  to  receive 
"  a  fair  proportion  of  the  city  business — that  is,  surety  on  contractors' 
"  bonds  and  on  employees  of  the  city.  That  influence  had  to  be  paid 
"  for,  and  it  was  done  by  paying  Croker  a  per  cent,  upon  the  net  profits 
(i  of  the  company  on  business  done  in  New  York  City.  This  percentage 
"  instead  of  being  charged  up  to  commission  account  or  payments  to 
"  agents  on  commission,  was  charged  against  interest  account  and 
"  deducted  therefrom." 

Mr.  Croker  was  reported  by  the  newspapers  as  denying  Mr.  Durkee's 

accusations,  while  acknowledging  that  he  had  an  interest  in  the  company. 

Black  and  IVJiite,  an  English  illustrated  paper,  in  its  issue  of 
November  10th,  1900,  published  an  article  on  Richard  Croker,  which 
was  in  part  as  follows : — 

"  MR.  RICHARD  CROKER  IN  HIS  ENGLISH  HOME. 

"It  is  now  more  than  five  years  ago  since  Mr.  Richard  Croker 
came  over  here  to  try  his  fortunes  on  the  English  turf,  and  chose  for  his 

residence  the  old  Moat  House  at  Letcombe,  near  Wantage,  Berks." 

vfr  *  *  %  *  # 

"  He  will  drive  a  good  horse,  and  that  means  a  very  fast  trotter, 
and  if  a  horse  he  has  bought  does  not  please  him,  no  matter  what  the 
cost  of  it,  it  is  just  sold  for  what  it  will  fetch." 

if:  *  ifc  >fi  $z 

"  Life  at  the  Moat  House  is  very  different  to  life  in  New  York,  for 
Mr.  Croker  has  only  comparatively  few  servants  at  Letcombe,  in  the 
house  ;  indeed,  his  establishment  is  much  the  same  as  any  wealthy 
middle-class  gentleman,  but  not  that  of  a  millionaire.  He  reserves  all 
outward  show  for  his  New  York  life.    The  house,  itself,  as  its  name 


20 


betokens,  is  surrounded  by  a  moat ;  the  dining-room  is  panelled  with 
oak,  and  in  the  drawing  room  is  an  electric  piano  which  is  switched  on 
to  Mr.  Croker's  bedroom,  so  that  when  awake  at  night,  he  can,  if  he 
wishes  it,  enjoy  the  music.  There  is  a  fine  billiard-room  with  tables  by 
Roberts,  and  the  great  player  occasionally  visits  the  great  politician." 

*  ^  #  SfC  5fC  $t 

"The  two  bulldogs,  Rodney  Stone  (champion  of  the  world),  for 
which  he  gave  ^1,000,  and  Bromley  Crib  he  took  back  to  America  with 
him,  taking  first-class  passages  for  both.  When  Mr.  Croker  brought  his 
race  horses  to  Letcombe,  he  put  them  in  charge  of  an  English  trainer, 
but  the  result  was  not  satisfactory,  so  he  sent  over  to  America  for 
Wichard,  an  American  trainer  of  repute,  and  transferred  to  him  the  care 
of  his  horses." 

*  *  Jfc  J}C  *  * 

"There  are  a  most  valuable  lot  of  foals  there  now,  one  of  which 
has  been  brought  up  entirely  by  hand,  and  was  a  source  of  great  interest 
to  its  owner." 

^* 

"  He  comes  down  to  Letcombe  to  escape  from  all  worries,  and  there 
he  sinks  the  politician  in  the  sportsman,  and  the  millionaire  in  the 
country  gentleman." 

iL*  *.L*  v 1  >  vl>  vL» 

*^ 

"  To  the  local  charities  he  is  a  liberal  subscriber ;  but  all  these 
matters  are  attended  to  by  Mr.  Usher,  who  acts  as  his  secretary." 

On  the  14th  of  April,  1899,  Mr.  Croker  testified  before  the  inves- 
tigating committee  that  the  assessments,  or  contributions,  made  by  the 
Tammany  candidates  for  office  were  not  entered  in  any  account  book,  and 
that  no  record  was  kept  showing  the  receipt  and  the  expenditure  of  these 
assessments  ;  and  that  he  personally  endorsed  many  of  the  checks  given  in 
payments  of  the  assessments.  He  testified  also  that  the  Wiskinskie  of  Tam- 
many Hall  was  "  the  clerk  who  goes  around  collecting  whatever  con- 
tributions he  can  collect  irrespective  of  party,"  from  office-holders  and 
others;  that  some  office-holders  contributed,  and  some  did  not ;  that,  so 
far  as  the  witness  knew,  no  account  was  kept  of  the  money  collected  in 
this  way,  or  of  the  persons  from  whom  it  was  collected. 

On  the  17th  of  April  Mr.  Croker  testified  that  he  could  not  tell  the 
amounts  of  the  campaign  contributions  of  candidates  for  county  offices  or 


for  the  office  of  mayor  ;  that  no  account  or  books  showing  the  amounts 
contributed  by  these  candidates  were  kept ;  that  sometimes  he  had  re- 
ceived these  contributions,  and  turned  them  over  to  the  treasurer  ;  that 
he  could  not  tell  the  total  amount  of  contributions  received  from  the 
campaign  of  1896,  that  he  did  not  know  of  any  record  showing  the 
amount,  and  that  there  was  no  record  of  the  disbursements  ;  and  that  this 
was  true  also  of  the  contributions  in  1897  and  1898.  He  declined  to 
state  whether  he  owned  an  interest  in  the  United  States  Fidelity  and 
Guarantee  Company  at  the  time  when  he  swore  off  his  taxes. 

On  the  14th  of  April  he  testified  that  he  had  held  a  hundred  and 
fifty  shares  of  stock  in  the  Consolidated  Ice  Company,  which  he  had 
turned  over  to  his  wife  ;  that  the  stock  had  increased  in  value  since 
his  purchase  from  $20  to  $40  a  share,  that  he  made  payment  for  the 
stock  in  cash  to  Mr.  Gelshenen,  president  of  the  Garfield  National  Bank  ; 
and  that  he  had  bought  stock  in  the  International  Air  and  Power  Com- 
pany. u  I  bought  that  in  Wall  Street,  right  off  the  street,  I  bought  three 
"  hundred  shares  the  other  day.  I  think  I  paid  about  seventy- two  for  it , 
"  and  I  sold  it  for  eighty-five  the  other  day."  He  declined  to  state 
whether  he  had  any  stock  of  the  Union  Railroad  Company,  and  said  that 
he  did  not  know  whether  answers  to  questions  upon  that  subject  would 
tend  to  degrade  or  incriminate  him. 

On  the  17th  of  April  Mr.  Croker  testified  that  he  did  very  little  in 
the  real  estate  business  at  11 1  Broadway,  not  buying  or  selling,  or  con- 
ducting auctions ;  and  that  practically  he  did  nothing  in  the  business 
except  to  give  it  the  benefit  of  his  name. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Croker  repeatedly  refused  to  tell  whether  he 
had  given  #17,000  to  his  son,  Frank  H.  Croker,  with  which  to  buy  an 
interest  in  the  Roebling  Construction  Company.  He  testified,  however, 
that  he  did  not  know  whether  his  son  had  received  stock  in  that  Company. 

Q. — Are  you  still  declining  to  answer  it  ?  A. — Yes,  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  his  interest  in  the  Roebling  Company.* 

*  Frank  H.  Croker  testified  before  the  committee  on  the  10th  of  April, 
1899,  that  he  had  paid  $17,000  for  an  interest  in  the  Roebling  Construction 
Company,  and  that  his  father  had  given  him  the  money. 


22 


Q. — I  ask  you  that  because  you  were  answering  so  many  questions 
about  that  Roebling  business  ;  why  is  it  you  always  stick  at  that  point  ? 
A. — Because  it  is  my  private  affair. 

Mr.  Andrew  Freedman  testified  on  the  21st  of  April  that  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  United  States  Fidelity  and  Guarantee  Company,  with 
which  he  had  become  acquainted  in  December,  1897  ;  that  a  number  of 
city  officials,  were  bonded  by  that  company  ;  that  he  did  not  think  that 
five  hundred  city  officials  were  bonded  by  the  company  ;  that  very  many 
contractors  doing  business  with  the  city  took  bonds  from  the  company ; 
that  the  company  did  no  more  to  secure  the  business  of  bonding  city 
officials  than  to  send  them  circulars  ;  that  the  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Com- 
pany of  Maryland,  known  as  the  Piatt  Company,  had  been  a  surety  with 
the  United  States  Company  on  nearly  all  the  bonds  of  city  officials  given 
by  the  United  States  Company ;  that  Mr.  Croker  had  some  stock  in  the 
United  States  Company ;  that  Mr.  Croker,  in  addition  to  his  in- 
terest as  a  stockholder,  had  an  interest  in  the  commissions  earned  by 
Mr.  Freedman  on  business  in  the  "metropolitan  district"  ;  that  there 
was  no  written  contract  between  them,  but  that  Mr.  Croker  relied  upon 
his  work  ;  that  Mr.  Croker's  share  of  the  commissions  did  not  amount  to 
850,000  a  year.  Mr.  Freedman  declined  to  state  whether  they  amounted 
to  $25,000  a  year.  He  testified  further  that  he  had  no  record  of  the 
money  sent  to  Mr.  Croker,  that  there  was  no  record  of  it,  that  the  trans- 
actions did  not  appear  in  any  check  book,  and  that  he  paid  Mr.  Croker's 
share  in  money,  generally  in  bills. 

"Why,  I  was  very  anxious  to  have  Mr.  Croker's  friendship  and 
association  in  this  company  on  account  of  the  legion  of  friends  that  he 
has  got  all  over  this  country,  and  I  realized  that  if  Mr.  Croker  would 
take  stock  and  join  me  in  this  enterprise,  it  would  be  most  successful, 
because  he  has  got  more  men,  more  friends,  that  are  willing  to  serve  him 
through  friendship,  than  any  other  man  in  this  country." 

Thomas  S.  Feitner  testified  before  the  investigating  committee  on 
the  22d  of  April,  1899,  as  follows  :  — 

Q. — I  read  the  essential  portions  of  this  paper:  "  Richard  Croker, 
"  No.  in  Broadway,  Department  of  Taxes  and  Assessments,  Stewart 


23 


"  Building,  No.  280  Broadway,  New  York,  January  14th,  1895.  You 
"  are  hereby  notified  that  your  personal  estate  for  1895  is  assessed  at 
"  825,000  exclusive  of  bank  stock,  and  that  the  same,  if  erroneous,  must 
"  be  corrected  before  the  commissioners  on  or  before  the  30th  day  of 
"  April  next,  or  it  will  be  confirmed  at  that  amount,  from  which  there 
"  will  be  no  appeal.  By  order  of  the  Commissioners  of  Taxes  and 
"  Assessment.    January  13th,  1895." 

i(  I  hereby  swear  that  on  the  second  Monday  of  January  last  the 
"  value  of  my  personal  property,  exclusive  of  bank  shares,  and  subject 
"  to  taxation,  did  not  exceed  $0.  (signed)  Richard  Croker."  There 
is  no  jurat  there,  but  do  the  marks  upon  this  paper  indicate  that  this  was 
actually  sworn  to  ?    A. — Yes,  sir. 

A  cable  despatch  in  the  New  York  World  of  the  12th  of  December, 
1900,  announced  that  the  English  tax  authorities  had  assessed  Mr. 
Croker's  income  at  $100,000,  after  he  had  appeared  before  the  tax 
assessors  at  Wantage:  and  that  his  income  tax  had  been  fixed  at  about 
$5,000.  Various  reports  as  to  this  matter  have  been  published,  but 
apparently  no  newspaper  has  authentic  information  as  to  the  facts. 

V. 

MR.  CROKER  AND  THE  DEMOCRATIC  CLUB. 

In  December,  1897,  within  a  few  weeks  after  the  success  of  the 
Tammany  ticket  in  the  municipal  election,  Mr.  Croker  declared  the 
Democratic  Club,  then  almost  in  a  state  of  collapse,  to  be  the  social 
centre  of  the  new  city  administration.  Tammany  politicians  and  other 
citizens  who  thought  it  desirable  to  commend  themselves  to  the  Tam- 
many leader  immediately  rushed  into  the  club,  and  it  entered  upon  a 
period  of  great  prosperity.  It  now  has  a  luxurious  house  at  No.  617 
Fifth  Avenue,  and  a  list  of  2550  members. 

In  an  article  in  the  New  York  Times  of  the  30th  of  July,  1898,  de- 
scribing the  arrival  of  Mr.  Croker  after  one  of  his  many  absences  in  Eng- 
land, appeared  these  statements  : — 


24 


On  the  Cimard  liner  Lucania,  which  arrived  at  her  pier  in  this  city 
from  Liverpool  at  7  o'clock  last  evening,  was  Richard  Croker,  the  leader 
of  Tammany  Hall,  who,  on  the  strength  of  reports  reaching  him  from 
his  political  friends  here,  had  abandoned  his  horse  racing  and  hurried 
back  from  England  to  take  an  active  hand  in  the  management  of  party 
affairs. 

*  *  ^ 

Mr.  Croker  was  driven  to  the  Democratic  Club,  where  an  hour  later 
almost  everybody  who  had  been  at  the  pier  to  welcome  him  put  in  an 
appearance.  The  club  house  was  crowded  as  it  had  not  been  before  in 
months,  and  the  waiters  were  kept  running  to  and  fro  all  the  evening.  • 
The  chief  kept  out  of  the  way.  He  was  closeted  with  John  F.  Carroll 
for  nearly  two  hours,  while  the  latter  was  telling  him  how  things  had  been 
going  during  his  absence. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1898,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Club  was  held  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  club-house.  The  late  Hon. 
Roswell  P.  Flower  the  retiring  president  of  the  Club,  said  in  calling  the 
meeting  to  order : 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  gentlemen,  to  call  this  meeting  to  order. 
"  The  Democratic  Club  is  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

"  For  a  long  time  the  Club's  prospects  were  not  so  bright.  In  fact, 
"  a  few  of  us  were  compelled  to  go  down  in  our  pockets  to  keep  it 
"  running  along.  But  Mr.  Croker  M  (applause)  "  came  along  and  has 
"  changed  all  that.  Now  the  Club  has  an  annual  income  of  $100,000, 
"  and  is  in  every  way  prosperous. 

"  I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  time  has  come 
"  when  there  is  need  of  a  president  and  members  of  a  board  of  govern - 
"  ors  who  can  give  more  of  their  time  and  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the 
"  Club.  I  live  up  in  the  country,  and,  though  I  wish  it,  I  could  not 
"  give  the  Club  matters  the  attention  they  deserve.  There  is  every  out- 
"  look  for  a  prosperous  existence  for  this  Club,  and  the  members  are  to 
"  be  congratulated  on  that  outlook." 

In  January,  1899,  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Croker  had  bought  the 
old  house  of  the  New  York  Athletic  Club,  at  6th  Avenue  and  54th  street, 
for  $190,000,  for  the  use  of  the  Democratic  Club.  The  Club,  however, 
having  decided  to  enlarge  its  old  house,  and  to  remain  there,  the  house 
bought  by  Mr.  Croker  was  leased  by  the  city  for  the  department  of  health 
at  an  annual  rental  of  $30,000. 


25 


In  the  New  York  Times  of  the  30th  of  November,  1899,  the  follow- 
ing paragraph  was  printed  : — 

At  the  Democratic  Club  last  night  it  was  apparent  that  something 
unusual  had  occurred,  for  the  parlors  and  corridors,  which  are  always 
crowded  while  Mr.  Croker  is  in  the  city,  were  practically  deserted.  In- 
terest in  the  Club  will  be  kept  up  by  a  billiard  tournament,  which  is  now 
in  progress,  and  by  a  series  of  club  smokers,  one  of  which  will  take  place 
before  the  holidays.  The  election  for  officers  of  the  Club  will  be  held 
on  Monday  night. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1899,  Mr.  Croker  addressed  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Democratic  Club  a  circular  letter,  stating  that  the  club  had 
more  than  two  thousand  members,  that  within  a  year  improvements  cost- 
ing nearly  $400,000  had  been  paid  for,  and  that  the  club  had  no  floating 
debt.    The  letter  contained  this  paragraph  : — 

"There  is  a  first  mortgage  on  our  house  amounting  to  $125,000 
which  it  now  becomes  our  duty  to  pay  off.  If  we  all  act  together,  it 
need  not  be  difficult  to  do  this.  With  2,250  names  on  our  roll,  a  simple 
calculation  shows  that  if  each  member  brings  in  one  new  member,  the 
initiation  fees  thus  derived  will  enable  the  club  to  pay  off  all  its  debts  and 
have  a  handsome  surplus,  *  *  *  This  is  the  banner  Demo- 
cratic club  of  the  country,  and  we  shall  fail  of  our  duty  if  we  do  not  avail 
ourselves  of  such  an  opportunity  to  establish  the  club  upon  a  sure  and 
unassailable  foundation." 

VI. 

iWR.  CROKER'S  VISITS  TO  ENGLAND. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Croker  has  passed  much  of  his  time  in  England, 
where  he  has  a  comfortable  country  place  at  Wantage.  He  maintains  a 
racing  stable  in  England,  and  has  had  some  success  on  the  English  turf. 

Mr.  Croker  sailed  for  England  on  the  25th  of  April,  1899,  as  a  first- 
cabin  passenger.  In  an  article  describing  the  scenes  attending  his  depar- 
ture, the  New  York  Evening  Post  of  the  25th  of  April  said  : — 

MR.  CROKER'S  DEPARTURE. 

DEMONSTRATION     BY     TAMMANY  HEELERS. 

Boss,  said  one  man  feelingly,  "  we  hope  you  are  going  to  have  a 
good  time." 


26 


"That's  what  I'm  going  for,"  Mr.  Croker  answered,  "  and  if  I  can 
handle  a  little  of  the  Prince's  money,  I'll  be  satisfied.  I'm  going  to  cover 
some  of  Albert  Edward's  money,  and  if  my  luck  holds  I  guess  I'll  come 
off  all  right." 

The  crowd  of  Tammany  politicians,  who,  by  this  time,  had  pushed 
their  way  in,  filled  the  stateroom.  Some  who  were  not  able  to  get  in,  even 
climbed  on  the  rail  and  peered  in  the  windows.  At  length  those  outside 
became  so  boisterous  that  the  ship's  officers  ordered  the  great  majority  of 
them  to  go  ashore.  They  crowded  their  way  to  the  pier,  and  left  Mr. 
Croker  in  peace  with  his  chosen  friends ;  and  they  stood  there  until  the 
steamer  was  a  good  way  down  the  river. 

When  Mr.  Croker  returns  from  abroad  he  will  receive  his  friends  at 
Max  Bleiman's  country  house  at  Red  Bank,  N.  J.,  which  he  has  leased. 
Here  he  will  spend  the  heated  term  after  his  return  ;  and  at  this  retreat 
he  will  gather  his  confidential  friends  about  him,  from  time  to  time. 
Mr.  Croker  held  a  great  reception  at  the  Democratic  Club  last  night. 
The  corridors  and  the  reception  rooms  were  crowded  with  politicians  and 
city  officials,  and  they  all  pressed  around  him  and  shook  his  hand,  and 
wished  him  a  good  holiday. 

The  New  York  Times  of  the  27th  ot  April,  1899,  quoted  Mr.  Croker 
as  saying  to  the  reporters  at  the  time  of  his  departure  for  England 
on  the  26th  of  April : — 

There  is  no  truth  in  the  story  that  I  am  going  to  England  to  en- 
deavor to  interest  an  English  syndicate  in  our  proposed  underground 
railroad.  I  am  merely  going  to  England  to  have  a  rest,  to  race  my 
horses,  and  to  bring  back  some  more  English  money.  I  think  I  have 
a  good  stable  this  year,  and  ought  to  win. 

Mr.  Croker  sailed  for  England  as  a  first-cabin  passenger  on  the  29th 
of  November,  1899.  An  article  describing  his  departure  printed  in  the 
New  York  Times  was,  in  part,  as  follows :  — 

CROKER  OFF  FOR  ENGLAND. 

TAMMANY  LEADER  SAILS  AND  RECEIVES  A  PRESIDENT'S  SALUTE. 

Official  New  York  was  well  represented  yesterday  morning  at  the 
pier  of  the  North  German  Lloyd  Steamship  Company,  in  Hoboken,when 
the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  der  Grosse  swung  into  the  stream,  having  on  board 


27 


Richard  Croker,  leader  of  Tammany  Hall.  His  loyal  followers  crowded 
the  pier  to  saygood-by  to  their  chief  and  wish  him  a  pleasant  voyage  and 
a  safe  return. 

Mr.  Croker  was  accompanied  down  the  bay  by  Dr.  William  T. 
Jenkins,  his  brother-in-law.  The  police  boat  Patrol  preceded  the  liner 
through  the  Narrows,  and  when  the  latter  reached  the  lower  bay  fired  a 
farewell  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  in  honor  of  Mr.  Croker. 

"Why,  that's  the  President's  salute,"  remarked  Mr.  Croker  to  the 
doctor  with  a  smile. 

Mr.  Croker  will  remain  in  England,  according  to  his  present  plans, 
until  next  spring.  He  will  devote  his  attention  to  his  racing  stable  and 
hopes  to  obtain  a  much  needed  rest,  which  he  says  he  cannot  enjoy  in 
this  country.  He  will  be  kept  fully  informed  as  to  what  goes  on  in  New 
York  during  the  winter,  and  when  he  returns  he  will  at  once  enter  into 
the  Presidential  campaign. 

The  following  paragraphs  appeared  in  the  New  York  Mail  and 
Express  of  the  5th  of  November,  1900  : — 

According  to  a  story  which  was  handed  about  at  up-town  resorts  to- 
day, Mr.  Richard  Croker,  the  boss  of  Tammany  Hall,  intends  to  sail  for 
Europe  shortly  after  election.  It  is  said  that  he  has  arranged  for  the 
shipment  of  twelve  race  horses  by  a  steamship  which  sails  next  week.  In 
this  string  is  a  trotter  now  stabled  in  East  Twenty-fourth  street.  This 
trotter  has  established  a  mark  of  2.25,  and  is  one  of  a  team  purchased  by 
Mr.  Croker  last  summer  with  the  intention  of  making  a  showing  at 
Saratoga  and  on  the  Speedway.  But  Mr.  Croker  does  not  intend  to  go 
into  the  trotting  business.    He  wants  these  for  pleasure  solely. 

Ten  of  the  horses  which  he  will  ship  are  thoroughbreds  which  will 
be  raced  in  England  next  season.  When  they  arrive  on  the  other  side 
they  will  be  turned  over  to  the  English  trainer  who  has  charge  of  Mr. 
Croker's  horses  abroad.  It  is  said  that  among  the  number  which  will  be 
shipped  is  Bellario.  This  colt  was  bought  by  State  Senator  McCarren 
for  Mr.  Croker  from  Newton  Bennington.  The  price  paid  was  $12,000 
It  was  said  at  the  time  that  Bellario  would  be  kept  in  this  country  and 
entered  in  a  number  of  rich  three- year-old  stakes  for  next  year. 

Those  who  pretend  to  know  all  about  it  say  that  Bellario  was  purchased 
for  an  English  campaign,  and  that  there  never  was  any  thought  of  racing 
him  in  this  country.  He  is  one  of  the  best  two-year-olds  of  the  season. 
The  other  horses  in  the  Croker  string  include  a  four-year-old  and  a  num- 
ber of  well-bred  yearlings. 


28 


On  the  17th  of  November,  1900,  Mr.  Croker  sailed  for  Europe. 
The  Evening  Post  of  that  day  said  ; — 

♦ 1  Mr.  Croker,  taking  personal  luggage  which  was  a  full  load  for  an 
express  wagon,  sailed  this  noon  on  the  steamship  Lucania  for  Liverpool." 

The  Herald  of  the  1 8  th  of  November  said ; — 

With  oft  repeated  assurances  that  the  Tammany  crusade  against  the 
conditions  of  vice  that  burden  this  city  would  be  legitimately  pursued, 
Richard  Croker  sailed  for  Europe  yesterday,  leaving  behind  a  disconso- 
late lot  of  followers,  many  of  whom  are  confused  as  to  his  real  inten- 
tions. 

*  *  *  ;}C  ijc  ^ 

His  stateroom,  No.  57  F,  just  off  the  grand  stairway  amidships,  was 
filled  with  flowers.  Conspicuous  among  them  were  an  immense  floral 
horseshoe  from  Chief  of  Police  Devery,  and  the  figure  of  a  horse  built  of 
roses,  which  was  sent  to  the  ship  by  Commissioner  Scannell.  Banked  at 
the  far  end  of  the  stateroom  was  a  mass  of  red  roses,  above  which  floated 
a  blue  silk  flag  bearing  in  gold  letters  the  names  of  the  Board  of 
Governors  of  the  Democratic  Club,  under  an  arch  bearing  the  word 
"  Godspeed." 

The  last  call  of  "All  ashore"  had  sounded  before  Mr.  Croker's 
friends  disembarked.  He  stood  in  the  doorway  of  the  reception  room 
and  shook  hands  right  and  left  with  his  visitors  as  they  went  away.  Chiet 
Devery  and  Commissioner  Sexton  were  the  last  to  leave  Mr.  Croker  and 
with  an  arm  thrown  about  the  shoulder  of  each  he  gave  them  whispered 
instructions  concerning'  the  attitude  of  the  police  in  the  immediate 
future. 

Among  others  who  during  the  last  two  days  have  gained  distinction 
as  social  reformers,  who  were  present  to  wish  Mr.  Croker  a  happy  voyage, 
were : — Senator  Timothy  D.  Sullivan,  who  is  financially  responsible  for 
several  pool  rooms;  Percival  Nagle,  Street  Cleaning  Commissioner; 
Cord  Meyer,  District  Attorney  Gardiner,  De  Lancey  Nicoll,  J.  J.  Coogan, 
John  J.  Scannell,  Fire  Commissioner  and  former  gambler;  Tax  Com- 
missioner Feitner,  Lewis  Nixon,  chairman  of  the  recently  formed  Tam- 
many Vice  Committee ;  John  W.  Keller,  Commissioner  of  Charities  ; 
Chief  of  Police  Devery,  who,  as  precinct  commander,  fostered  vice  in 
that  section  of  the  city  which  Tammany  is  now  attempting  to  purify ; 
James  Shevlin,  James  Mahoney,  head  of  the  pool  room  syndicate  of  the 
city;  Peter  De  Lacy,  gambler  and  pool  room  keeper;  "Al"  Adams, 


29 


head  of  the  policy  syndicate ;  Theodore  H.  Hascall,  Judge  of  the  City 
Court ;  Dr.  John  Cosby,  Maurice  Featherston,  Herman  Selzer  and  Frank 
Farrell,  pool  room  keeper. 


VII. 

THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  MANHATTAN  ELEVATED  RAILWAY 

COMPANY. 

On  the  1 6th  of  April,  1899,  Mr.  Croker  testified  as  follows  before 
the  Investigating  Committee  : — 

Question. — Did  you  not  sell  Manhattan  stock  in  anticipation  of  an 
attack  upon  the  Manhattan  Company?  Answer. — I  decline  to  answer 
that  question. 

Q. — Upon  what  grounds?  A. — Because  it  concerns  my  personal 
affairs. 

Q. — Did  you,  when  you  sold  that  Manhattan  stock,  know  that  there 
was  going  to  be  an  attack  made  upon  it  by  the  city  departments?  A. — 
I  decline  to  answer  that. 

Q. — Did  you  know  that  the  departments  of  the  city  government 
were  going  to  make  an  attack  upon  the  Manhattan  Elevated  Railway? 
A. — I  decline  to  answer  that. 

In  the  winter  of  1898-9  the  city  authorities  made  a  general  attack 
upon  the  Manhattan  Elevated  Railway  Company.  The  department  of 
health  declared  several  hundred  points  of  the  elevated  railway  structure 
to  be  unsafe,  and  served  notice  upon  the  company  that  repairs  must  be 
made  at  all  these  points.  The  municipal  assembly  threatened  to  pass 
ordinances  which  would  have  imposed  very  heavy  expenditures  upon  the 
company.  On  the  25th  of  February,  1899,  the  New  York  Evening  Post 
published  "  an  account  of  what  passed  between  George  Gould"  (presi- 
dent of  the  Manhattan  Company)  "and  Richard  Croker,  in  relation  to 
attaching  compressed-air  pipes  to  the  structure  of  the  elevated  railroad, 


3° 

from  a  source  which  can  be  depended  upon  as  entirely  accurate."  This 
account  was  as  follows  : — 

"Mr.  Croker  called  upon  Mr.  Gould  and  demanded  the  privilege, 
in  behalf  of  his  auto-truck  company,  of  attaching  its  compressed-air 
pipes  to  the  elevated  company's  structures  on  all  the  streets  covered  by 
their  lines.  Mr.  Gould  met  him  courteously,  and  stated  that,  if  he  would 
submit  his  plans,  he  would  consult  his  chief  engineer  as  to  whether  the 
structures  would  carry  the  load.  He  would  also  ascertain  from  his  coun- 
sel whether  the  Manhattan  Company  had  authority  to  give  the  necessary 
permission  for  attaching  the  pipes  ;  whereupon  Mr.  Croker  said  : 

"  1  Oh,  hell  !  I  want  the  pipes  put  on,  and  I  don't  want  any  cir- 
cumlocution.' 

"  Mr.  Gould  then  said:  'I  am  surprised  at  the  tenor  of  your  de- 
mand. Don't  you  think  it  would  be  better  to  give  me  an  opportunity 
to  consult  my  officials?  ' 

"  1  No,'  answered  Croker,  *  we  want  the  pipes  put  on,  and  we  don't 
want  any  fuss  about  it.' 

"  Mr.  Gould's  final  remark  was:  'Under  the  circumstances,  Mr. 
Croker,  I  will  settle  the  question  now,  without  referring  it  to  my  officials. 
I  will  say  to  you  now  that  we  will  not  permit  you  to  attach  your  pipes 
to  the  elevated  structures.'  " 

Mr.  Croker  denied  this  story,  and  the  newspapers  represented  him 
as  shocked  that  anyone  should  have  thought  him  capable  of  using  lan- 
guage so  violent  as  that  attributed  to  him  ;  but  the  belief  in  the  substan- 
tial accuracy  of  this  explanation  of  the  attack  upon  the  Elevated  Railway 
Company  was  general. 

VIII. 

MR.  CROKER'S  PRAISE  OF  THE  TAMMANY  ADMINISTRA- 
TION—HIS   CHRISTMAS  ADDRESS. 

In  the  New  York  Times  of  the  30th  of  October,  1898,  Mr.  Crokerr 
was  quoted  as  saying  in  the  course  of  a  long  interview  :     "  The  people  of 


3i 

"  New  York  are  enjoying  at  this  time  a  splendid,  economical,  just  and 
"  broad  municipal  government.  Look  at  the  administration  of  the  po- 
"  lice  department."         *         *  *  *  "  Too  much 

"  praise  can  not  be  given  to  the  police  department  as  at  present  admin- 
<<  istered  by  Chief  Devery."  *  *  *  *  *  "  The 
"  moral  tone  of  the  community  has  been  improved." 

In  December,  1898,  a  Christmas  address  by  Mr.  Croker  was  printed 
in  the  Tammany  Times.    It  was  in  part  as  follows  :  — 

Christmas  knows  no  climate.  The  benign  influence  of  the  sacred 
season,  with  its  kind  thoughts,  liberal  charities  and  general  benevolence, 
extends  from  the  frozen  north  of  the  Arctic  regions  to  the  tropics.  It  is 
the  joyous  season  when  the  memory  of  every  wrong  and  sorrow  in  the 
world  around  us  would  be  active  for  good. 

As  Americans  we  have  special  reason  to  feel  happy.  None  are  hap- 
pier than  those  who  do  good  to  their  fellow-men. 

5fC  5^ 

To  all  our  citizens  of  every  kind  and  degree  Tammany  extends  a 
hearty  greeting.  To  every  one  within  the  borders  of  our  municipality, 
whether  resident  or  visitor,  old  friend  or  passing  stranger,  we  offer  our 
best  wishes  and  our  best  hospitality.  Even  to  our  enemies,  those  who 
fought  so  hard  against  us,  we  offer  the  fitting  compliments  of  the  season; 
and  remembering  the  sentiment  so  beautifully  expressed  in  the  words 
familiar  and  dear  to  every  man  and  woman  in  the  land,  "  Peace  on  earth, 
good  will  to  men?"  we  wish  everybody  a  Merry  Christmas. 

(Signed)  RICHARD  CROKER. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1899,  at  a  hearing  before  Mayor  Van  Wyck 
upon  proposed  ordinances  directed  against  the  Manhattan  Elevated  Rail- 
way Company,  the  Mayor  said  : — "  Mr.  Croker  is  a  man  whose  whole 
"  stock  in  trade  is  his  veracity.  The  only  way  by  which  he  could  have 
"  built  himself  up  into  the  power  he  is  to-day  was  by  always  telling  the 
"  truth.  I  have  known  him  for  twenty-five  years,  and  he  has  never  lied 
"  to  me  yet,  and  it  is  too  late  for  him  to  begin  now." 

In  the  Evening  Post  of  the  nth  of  November,  1898,  it  was  stated 


\ 

r 


32 

that  on  the  day  before,  Mr.  Croker  had  held  a  long  conference  with  Mr. 
Chauncey  M.  Depew  in  Mr.  Depew's  office  "  Later  Mr.  Depew  called 
"  upon  Mr.  Piatt,  and  the  two,  with  Mr.  Odell,  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
"  lican  state  committee,  were  in  close  consultation  for  two  hours."  * 
*  *  *  *  "  Croker's  visit  naturally  aroused  curiosity, 
"  and  when  Mr.  Depew  was  asked  about  its  object  he  replied,  1  Mr. 
"  Croker  wanted  to  find  out  about  a  train,  and  instead  of  sending  some- 
"  body,  came  himself  as  usual.'  " 

The  New  York  Times  of  the  19th  of  October,  1900,  stated  that 
Mr.  Croker  admitted  that  he  had  been  quoted  correctly  by  the  news- 
papers as  saying  : — 

"  My  advice  to  Democratic  voters  the  country  over  is  to  congre- 
gate about  the  polling  places  on  the  evening  of  election  day,  count 
noses,  and  then,  if  the  election  returns  for  Bryan  don't  tally  with  their 
count,  to  go  into  the  polling  places  and  throw  those  fellows  in  charge  of 
the  returns  into  the  street." 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1900,  the  New  York  Evening  Post  reported 
Mr.  Croker  to  have  said  in  an  interview : — 

"  We  have  the  best  city  government  in  the  world.  All  the  depart- 
ments are  run  honestly  and  economically,  the  streets  are  clean,  and 
everything  is  done  to  make  the  city  the  best  place  to  live  in." 


